Sponsors

Sponsors listed here are public and private contributors to MAR-ECO, i.e. those providing funding and in-kind support to various project activities. Many additional institutions support MAR-ECO scientist’s participation by internal means, and links to their websites are found elsewhere (see Participants).

Providers of two months ship-time on the RV G.O.Sars in 2004 for an international scientific team. The team will be supported by a Norwegian crew of technicians and engineers, and have free access to the ship’s facilities and instruments.

Significant internal funding of labour costs of permanent staff, and special grants to support the RV G.O.Sars cruise and analysis activities, including sample curating efforts in the Bergen Museum, running costs of students, and visiting scientists.

Hosts for the MAR-ECO Secretariat (IMR), and the Public Outreach Group (IMR, UoB).

Two grants to Bergen Museum (the UoB’s Meltzer Foundation), supporting curating activity and a new deep-sea exhibition. 2004.

Corporate associates/ sponsors

ARGUS Remote Systems AS based in Bergen, Norway, builds and operates remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for deep-sea applications. Two of the ARGUS-built vehicles will be used on the RV G.O.Sars cruise, and ARGUS is a MAR-ECO associate.

TELENOR AS is a Norwegian international telecom company. Its subsidiaries TELENOR Satellite Services AS (Sealink) provides optimal communication solutions for the RV G.O. Sars cruise in 2004.

SIMRAD, a subsidiary of the Kongsberg Group, is a worldwide producer of hydroacoustic instrumentation (e.g. echo sounders, sonars) for all types of ships and smaller vessels. SIMRAD became in 2003 the first MAR-ECO sponsor and has donated echosounder units for bottom-moored instrument packages.

A.P. Sloan Foundation Private foundation that initiated the Census of Marine Life programme and provided substantial support for infrastructure and key common elements of MAR-ECO since the early idea stage and through the planning and field phases.

Tamro MedLab AS imports, promotes and sells a wide range of health care and laboratory products from basic disposables (eg. glass, plastics, chemicals etc) to laboratory instruments/equipment and microscopes. Tamro MedLab AS sponsors MAR-ECO in the period 2005 - 2008, and provides discounts on equipments.

ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies and is a MAR-ECO sponsor. ABB is the supplier of the control- and drive system used for scientific electrical winches for high performance deep-sea operations.

SonarData donates four Echoview dongles for use during the MAR-ECO cruise. This software package can be used to display, analyze, and visualize acoustic data from Simrad echosounders (i.e. EK60) and the multibeam (i.e. SM-20).

Arcus Kjemi AS is a supplier of technical and medical ethanol, solvents, etc. Arcus Kjemi AS became a MAR-ECO sponsor in 2004, donating ethanol for preservation of biological samples and specimens to be curated by the Bergen Museum.

SKIPSTEKNISK AS is the designer of the "G.O. SARS" and a world-leading designer of fishery and oceanographic research vessels. Our new generation super-silent research vessels meets the ICES's Noise Recommendations. SKIPSTEKNISK AS supports the expedition.

Braathens ASA, a SAS-group airline, is a MAR-ECO associate and has provided a discount-rate charter Bergen-Horta-Bergen in connection with the change of the RV G.O.Sars crew in the Azores on 3 July 2004.

SCANMAR AS is a supplier of cable-free fishing gear monitoring systems, and is a MAR-ECO associate.

Public sponsors

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Grant in support of Russian-Norwegian collaboraton on MAR-ECO (portion of funds awarded to the Institute of Marine Research, Norway 2003-2004)

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, USA. Post-doctoral grant in support of the MAR-ECO components PN1 and PN2, and internal funding to Drs Tracey Sutton and Marsh Youngbluth.

The Natural Environment Research Council, United Kingdom Studentship at the University of Aberdeen OCEANLAB, and support to MAR-ECO related use of free-fall landers.

Nordic Council of Ministers Financial support (DKK 400.000,-) to the Norwegian and Danish participants investigating marine mammals and birds on the MAR-ECO cruises to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Support in 2004 (DKK 200,000) for collaborative studies of zooplankton involving Norwegian, Icelandic and Russian scientists.

The European Commission Through the grants to two associated 5th Framework Projects, EuroGEL and OASIS, MAR-ECO indirectly benefits from EC support.

NOAA Ocean Exploration Initiative

Grant in 2003 to support the MAR-ECO dives in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone on the MIR-1 and MIR-2 submersibles operated from the Russian RV Akademik Mstislav Keldysh.

Grant to Dr G. Waring a.o. in support of marine mammal studies in 2003 and 2004.

Grant to Dr John Galbraith a.o. in 2004 in support of US participation on the RV G.O.Sars.

Grant to Dr Michael Vecchione in support of cruises to the New England seamounts in 2002, 2003, 2004. (RV Delaware II).

Marine Research Institute Iceland. The primary marine research institute of Iceland committed its RV Arni Fridriksson to MAR-ECO activities on the Reykjanes Ridge in 2003 and carried out an investigation with international participation. MRI has further granted support for two studentships (starting 2004) and internal staff, primarily working on trophic ecology of zooplankton and on mesopelagic fish (the MAR-ECO components Z1 and PN1).

SCALA broadcast multimedia has provided software and hardware for use in museums and the school network to convey and display information on MAR-ECO.

The Research Council of Norway supports a MAR-ECO study of population substructuring in deep-sea fishes, 2004-2006, led by Professor Nils Christian Stenseth (University of Oslo & Institute of Marine Research). Visiting scientist grants provided through the bilateral cultural agreement between Norway and Portugal (Instituto Camões) to two Portuguese partners.

Dyrkorn Manufacturer and supplier of their well known fishing longline. Dyrkorn also supply gillnets, ropes, workwear and other specialized equipment for the fishing industry. Dyrkorn has sponsored the MAR-ECO project with fishing longline, traps and discount on gillnets.

Normarine AS provides suitable bait at discount rates.

Public agencies/authoritiesFiskeri- og Havbruksnaeringens Forskningsfond (Norwegian foundation managing industry-derived funds in support of fishery and aquaculture research): direct financial support for the operation at sea and subsequent analyses.Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries (funds for fishing experiments and industry advice): direct financial support for operation.Moere and Romsdal County: direct financial support.Sogn and Fjordane County: direct financial support.